Finding Calypso
by fairytalendings
Summary: Leo takes on the impossible quest to find Ogygia and rescue Calypso. Will he succeed, or will he die trying? Not entirely canon.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series._

 _Hello, hope you enjoy this fanfic. : ) My posting schedule for this (if this fanfic is incomplete) will be on my profile. Thank you for reading!_

 _-R.C. (Rosie Crescent aka fairytalendings)_

 **Chapter One**

 **Leo**

I didn't know how long I'd been flying over the ocean, clinging onto Festus's back. All I knew was that I wanted to get to Ogygia before I went crazy with my unsuppressable ADHD. All throughout the seemingly interminable ride, I fidgeted, twitching my feet, wringing my hands, and even screaming random words at the top of my lungs. I was sure Festus was as eager as me to get the ride over with.

I also wished I had asked my dad for his blessing, or maybe even paid a visit to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building first. For all I knew, if I asked the gods about Calypso, they might've been like 'Oh, heck, we totally forgot about her. We've been meaning to end her punishment for a while.' Plus, there was that one-time only rule on the island. I remembered how Calypso had told me that a man could only find Ogygia once in his lifetime, and my cheeky answer that I was a rulebreaker. Even though I was grinning, I still knew, deep down, that she was right.

My oath as I had left the island seemed like it the right thing to do, and I still knew it was. But now, the goal of getting to Ogygia seemed more impossible. I kept thinking of barriers that would stop me from reaching Calypso, or letting her come with me back to Camp Half-Blood. _Come on Leo,_ I thought to myself, _you do it or you die trying._ Seems more like a grim precept than encouragement, but it's pretty much a demigod's motto. Demigods don't just quit.

I watched as the sun began to slowly sink below the horizon, painting the sky shades of orange, pink, and purple. Finally, as the sky turned dark and stars began to twinkle, I decided there was no point in staying awake. "If there's trouble, wake me up," I called to Festus, who creaked in reply. I laid my head down on top of Festus's neck, wrapping my arm around it, closed my eyes, and began to dream.

 _I was in the center of what seemed like a little kid's room. A small table that was covered in colorful scribbles with two plastic chairs next to it was in one corner of the room, and a small bed lined the wall I was facing. Cartoon robots decorated the dark blue quilt that was messily pushed to one end of the bed. Sunlight filtered through a window on the wall to the left of me, and a short bookshelf filled with volumes was placed below it. I could see drawings, evidently made by a little kid, taped on the yellow walls. Model airplanes and cars were deposited in arbitrary positions in the room. With a pang, I realized I was in my old bedroom from when I was seven, a year before my mom died._

" _Leo," someone said. I turned around to the source of the sound, towards where the door to the room was. A familiar man faced me. He had a tangled brown beard, and an even messier nest of hair. Smudges of dirt and grease covered his overalls._

" _Dad," I greeted. Although I was still a bit miffed that Hephaestus never tried to contact me before I went to Camp Half-Blood, I was still glad to see him. His face, which many would find ugly or repulsive, comforted me like I was wrapped up in a blanket on a cold winter day. To be honest, his face wasn't like Zeus' handsome one, and his misshapen, rough features weren't calming and gentle like Poseidon's. Hephaestus wasn't the most handsome man on the block. But that's what I liked about his appearance the most. All his imperfections made me feel more comfortable and relaxed. In contrast, the other Olympians' otherworldly beauty made me feel small, unconfident, and wary._

" _Son, let me cut to the point," Hephaestus began. His voice was deep and booming. "I know that your motives for rescuing Calypso are brave. But the other Olympians don't think so. They see your actions as defiance."_

" _Oh." I wasn't surprised. I was expecting at least some of the gods to disagree with my actions._

" _However, I personally think it's time Calypso went free. The gods need to learn when to be austere, and when to show mercy." I thought I saw a glint in Hephaestus's eyes._

" _Um, would you mind telling me where Ogygia might be?" I couldn't help asking._

" _You're going in the right direction," Hephaestus replied. "Keep going north, and you'll reach Ogygia in two days."_

" _Really?"_

 _Hephaestus nodded. "I'll make sure the gods do not harm you during your journey to Ogygia until you reach the island. After that, I cannot help you much with what the gods decide to do with you."_

 _"Isn't there a thing that a person can only visit Ogygia once in their lifetime?" I questioned._

 _"Yes," Hephaestus said. "However, you are no regular mortal."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"You died, but you were revived by the physician's cure, remember? When you died, you reset your chance of finding Ogygia. This time, however, you cannot return to Ogygia after you've left it," Hephaestus explained, then pulled a watch out of his breast pocket. He glanced at it, and shoved it back inside the pocket. "Well, now I have to go. Got some weapons to fix. Good luck, son."  
_

" _Thanks, Dad. Seriously. This means a lot to me." I smiled at him, hoping he was feeling the gratitude I was putting into the words._

" _I'm proud of you, Leo. Not everybody can defy the gods because they believe what they're doing is right."_

 _At that moment, the boundary that had separated us at the beginning of the dream disappeared. Maybe it was Hephaestus' praise, or the fact that I sensed the dream coming to an end. I ran towards Hephaestus, and hugged him. I felt his arms coming around me, holding me in the embrace, as the dream faded away to black._

I woke up, still feeling Hephaestus' arms around me, and I smiled with new confidence. The sun was just rising, and I could smell the saltiness of the ocean below.

"Come on, Festus. We're going to Ogygia."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two  
**

 **Leo**

Before I did anything else, I used the Archimedes sphere to check that we were going north. I watched as the needle pointed straight ahead.

"Great," I said, mostly to myself than Festus. "We're on course. Time for breakfast!" With that being said, I put my hand inside one of the pockets of my tool belt, conjuring in my mind an image of a bagel. Before I had left for Ogygia, I had stuffed supplies like food, water, fuel, medical supplies, and other loose items I thought I would need for the trip into the pockets of my tool belt. One of the convenient properties of my tool belt was that I could shove any heavy, large item in it, say, Festus (not that he'd let me), and I wouldn't be able to feel the extra weight, and the tool belt would still have room for more. Another feature was that the tool belt acted like a magical refrigerator. You could keep any type of food in it, and it would never spoil or develop mold no matter how long you left it there. The temperatures of the foods were also maintained. To give you an example, a tub of ice cream would never melt as long as it stayed inside the tool belt. I thanked the gods that I found Bunker 9, or I would have been stuck eating small rations of freeze-dried beef jerky the entire journey.

My fingers finally brushed against an object. "Ha! Gotcha, bagel!" Pleased, I pulled out my prize: a blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese, packed inside a ziploc bag. I opened the bag and pulled out my breakfast. It wasn't until I took an enormous bite out of the bagel that I realized how ravenous I was. Quickly, I finished the rest of the bagel, licking my fingers to get some cream cheese that had seeped out of the bagel while I was eating.

As I resealed the bag and put it back into my tool belt, a series of sounds came from Festus, which would have sounded like clicks to anybody else. The clicks were Festus's way of communicating with me in morse code, and at this time, he was telling me to feed him. "Right, sorry buddy," I said sheepishly. "Almost forgot." I reached into a pocket of my tool belt again, this time thinking of a yellow container. Motor oil. I'd brought two 5-quart containers of motor oil for Festus. I felt the container's handle, and I pulled it up, grunting at its weight. I set it on Festus's back, relieving myself of the burden, and also hoping that it wouldn't tumble down to the ocean below. Once again, I reached inside a pocket of my tool belt for a contraption I'd made for feeding Festus while flying.

When my hand emerged from the pocket of my tool belt, it was clutching a metal pipe that was about the length of Festus's neck. "Okay, Festus," I announced. "Feeding time!" Festus spun his head to the right forty-five degrees, so one of his eyes could still see where he was going. He opened his mouth, and I held the metal pipe out so that one end of the pipe was just in front of his mouth. He closed his jaws around it. With my free hand, I unscrewed the cap of the motor oil container, lifted the oil container up, and poured some of the golden liquid into the pipe. The oil flowed through the pipe into Festus's mouth. Festus clicked, telling me to give him more oil. "Tell me when to stop," I told him, then poured more in. My arm was shaking from the weight of the motor oil, but gradually the heaviness of it decreased. Festus finally clicked, letting me know he was full. I took the pipe out of his mouth, and shoved it into the center pocket of my tool belt. With both hands free, I brought the motor oil container closer and peeked into it. I sighed with relief. Festus had only drunk about half of the oil, which was twice as much as he usually drank. Since he was flying nonstop, I knew he would need more oil than he usually did. I calculated that since I had brought fifteen containers, I would have fourteen left after two days of travel because Festus only needed oil once a day. I subtracted three days worth of oil - one and a half containers - from the remaining amount of oil for the way back to North America. Which left me with twelve and a half containers of oil left, which was for our stay at Ogygia. Since Festus only needed a quarter of a container when he wasn't flying nonstop, the twelve and a half containers of oil could supply me for fifty days at most on Ogygia. Plenty of oil. I felt relieved, now that I knew I had some wiggle room with my oil supply.

After I shoved the oil container back into my tool belt pocket, my ADHD kicked in. I was jumpy, noticing every sound, every detail in the landscape, every seagull that shrieked nearby. I wished for some action or excitement. Little did I know that my wish would be granted.

* * *

The first warning of danger came rolling towards us a couple hours later, when it was probably just past noon. I'd already eaten my lunch, a grilled cheese sandwich, and I'd fed Festus a snack of Tabasco sauce just a couple minutes before. Festus suddenly started snorting and tilting his head at different angles, almost like a dog sniffing the air.

"What is it?" I asked anxiously. I strained my eyes to see all around us, trying to see if I could pick out any threats. Festus answered that he sensed celestial bronze somewhere ahead of us. I frowned. The only three beings in the world that could possess celestial bronze were gods, demigods, and maybe monsters. Since Hephaestus promised me that no god would harm me during my journey to Ogygia, I decided that if it were a god, they would be no threat to me. Demigods were usually friendly, but there were exceptions, like Octavian and Sciron. However, I thought that it was very unlikely that any demigod, good or bad, would be in the middle of the ocean. It was equally likely that there were monsters up ahead, but, again, it would be very odd that a monster was in the middle of the ocean. I would have dismissed the celestial bronze as a piece of scrap metal floating in the ocean if it weren't for the fact that Festus then told me that the metal was up ahead, in the clouds.

"I don't like this," I muttered. Whatever the potential threat was, it could fly, and that unnerved me.

Suddenly, a screeching sound pierced the sound of the calm waves of the ocean. It was loud, telling me that wherever that screech came from, it was close to us. Festus snorted, and smoke drifted out of his nostrils. I held my right hand out beside me, palm up, and willed a fireball to form above it. My entire body was tense, poised for attack. A second screech sounded, louder, and another screech joined in. "So, two monsters?" I said to myself. As the screeching grew louder, I realized that more and more voices joined in the screeching. "A whole group?" I groaned. "Oh, come on!"

I eyed the clouds up ahead, and told Festus to stop going forward. He obeyed, and we both waited in anticipation for the creatures to appear ahead of us. The screeching grew louder and louder, until it probably burst my eardrums. Finally, I saw something through the clouds, a glint of gold. The gold spot grew bigger, and we were met with what looked like a giant flock of golden birds. I immediately assessed that their feathers were made of a mix of regular bronze and celestial bronze. Their beaks, too were made of the same metal mix. Stymphalian birds. I hated those things. They attacked the Argo II once, but Festus torched them all. Their feathers were all darts that the birds could use at any time, and I heard that they had poisonous dung. Gross _and_ toxic. What a stellar combination.

The flock of birds rushed towards us, and Festus opened his jaws. A rush of flames erupted from his mouth, hitting the center of the flock perfectly. There was a loud screeching, and the birds split around the flames, but not before a good thirty or so birds fell into the ocean. The remaining birds, which was still about ninety percent of the original flock, formed a circle around us. I doubted that we could fly faster than those birds, with Festus being so heavy, and I could only guess how far their darts could go. Which left us with only one choice. "Attack, Festus!" I yelled, and threw my fireball, which hit one of the birds.

The birds all screeched as their friend hit the ocean. There was a silence as the birds stopped screeching, almost like they were gauging how strong Festus and I were. All of a sudden, the screeching started again, and then the darts came. I ducked as a few whizzed over my ahead, and Festus blocked the ones coming from behind with his tail. Being made of machinery, Festus couldn't feel any pain from the darts, but could still sense them on his body. He opened his mouth, and knocked a few birds down with his fiery breath. While Festus was blasting them all, and the birds were throwing darts, I reached into my tool belt and pulled out a sheet of metal. I grabbed a couple more, and melted them together to create a thick metal shield. Grunting from its weight, I managed to lift it and blocked a few darts coming from the side. Spotting a few darts flying towards Festus's neck, I reached over and blocked them with my makeshift shield. Although we were both doing well, we couldn't block the darts from all directions at the same time. The birds finally figured it out. While I was blocking some darts from the left, two darts from the right plunged into my arm. "Ow!" I yelled. Festus roared, whipping his head to the right to shoot some flames over to the birds. The place were the darts punctured my skin grew hot, and I gritted my teeth through the pain, forcing myself to block a few more darts. Together, with me blocking darts and throwing the occasional fireball, and Festus blasting all the birds with fire, we finally managed to destroy all the birds. It took a while, though, and I had darts in both my arms and legs, while Festus had darts sticking out the entire length of his tail, on his sides, and his wings.

I breathed heavily, and reached into my tool belt, squeezing my eyes shut as the pain in my arms magnified. I forced myself to move them around, thinking of little brown squares. Pulling out a ziplock bag filled with the squares, I tried to make myself ignore the pain in my arms and legs. Ever so slowly, I opened the bag, pulled one out, and raised it to my mouth.

The sweetness of the ambrosia filled my mouth, almost covering the pain in my limbs. Seizing the chance, I reached a hand up to my right arm and pulled a dart out. I screamed in my mind, but kept quiet, gritting my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut. I dropped the dart into the ocean, muttering apologies to Poseidon for littering his kingdom. The pain went away, and was replaced by another surge of agony as I pulled the second dart out. I repeated this process, until I pulled all the darts out of my arms and legs, eating a second square of ambrosia in between. Festus creaked encouragement at me the entire time, and I tried to focus on his clicks instead of on the pain. As soon as I pulled the last dart out of my leg, I sighed in relief. My wounds were still throbbing, but the pain was already going away, even where I'd pulled the last dart out, thanks to the ambrosia.

I felt something slide down my arm, and I realized my wounds were still bleeding. I put the ambrosia back into my tool belt, and reached around to pull my first aid kit out. After cleaning each wound and bandaging them, I proceeded to pull darts out of Festus's side where I could reach. I didn't dare to crawl to his tail, and I couldn't pull any of the darts out of his wing while he was still flying. Although Festus couldn't feel any pain, he could still sense the darts on his body and feel the weight they added. Maybe the darts even damaged part of the machinery inside of him, but I couldn't tell for sure. As far as I could tell, Festus was doing just fine. I would do a detailed check up on Festus when we arrived at Ogygia.

I sighed with relief. Half a day down, and one and a half days more to go. _I'm coming for you, Calypso,_ I thought in my mind. _No matter what it takes._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 **Leo**

The next morning, my senses were more alert than ever. My fingers danced across Festus's back, a result of my nerves. Festus, noticing my agitation, began calling out what he sensed, such as _we're flying steadily,_ or _this wind is really strong._ It really did help, and I made a mental note to thank the Fates or whoever controlled my destiny that I found Bunker 9. I had a lot of things to be grateful for.

Our progress in the morning went smoothly and with no trouble. I refused to relax, however. Just because everything was going well did not mean that the rest of the day would pass calmly.

Just as I was starting to get hungry and was about to pull out my lunch, a white shape darted in front of Festus. The dragon made a high pitched noise, and managed to halt just before hitting the bird. The sudden stop jolted me forward, then yanked me backwards. Luckily, my hands had flown to grip Festus's sides, which was the only thing that kept me from falling off. I glanced at the bird, recognizing it as a dove. "Shoo, birdie," I told the dove. "We need to move." The dove merely stared at me with its black eyes. They seemed like they were holding intelligence, or maybe it was a trick of the sunlight. I guessed that it was no coincidence this bird was here. As far as I knew, doves never flew to the middle of the ocean. Heck, I didn't even think they even flew _close_ to the ocean.

I racked my brain for any creature or god that would have a connection to doves. Meanwhile, the dove looked on, not moving from its position in the air. Suddenly, I thought of it. "Aphrodite," I said aloud. I glanced at the dove for verification, and we locked gazes. I felt a surge of emotion in me, and it reminded me of my mom, Hephaestus, Calypso, my friends, and a bunch of other people. Love. Warmth swelled in my chest, and seemed to spread all over me. I felt like I could do anything. All of a sudden, a searing light blazed across my vision, impairing my sight. I panicked, blindly flailing my arms to test if I could feel Festus, Then, the light disappeared, and I blinked a couple times to make sure what I was seeing was real.

I was standing in a beautiful garden. Roses lined a cobblestone path that led to an open space covered in white marble. At the center of the opening was a stone fountain. Wooden picnic tables surrounded the fountain. On both sides of the pathway, plants, flowers, and tiles were arranged in an artistic way. But the garden was nothing compared to the girl standing in front of me.

She looked like Calypso. No, she looked like an _enhanced_ version of Calypso. The girl had glossy caramel hair that cascaded down her back in waves. Her fair skin appeared to glow, and contrasted with her large, warm brown eyes. Her lips were redder than what seemed possible, making her face even paler than it really was. She wore a sleeveless white dress that reached just past her ankles and brown leather sandals that had touches of gold on it. She beamed at me, making me dizzy as I looked at her flawless beauty. "Hello, Leo Valdez," she greeted me in a musical voice.

"You're Aphrodite, right? Like, the goddess?" I wanted to smack myself for my idiotic words. _Get a grip on yourself, Leo._

Aphrodite smiled, not noticing my unintelligent reply, or choosing not to notice it. "No, I'm Ares," she said playfully. I gaped at her even more. It didn't occur to me that someone this breathtaking would be joking _with_ me, not about me. "Yes, Leo, I'm Aphrodite."

"Um, don't take this offensively or anything, but Festus will probably be panicking about where I am right now, so whatever you need to say to me, make it quick please." I spoke quickly, and it was a wonder that my words didn't get all jumbled up.

"Oh, do not worry," Aphrodite laughed lightly. "You are not actually gone. Part of your soul, I suppose you could say, is here, but your physical body is still with Festus. This is all really happening in your head, but it's still real. Do you happen to be grasping this at all?"

"Not really," I admitted.

"Don't worry about it. What us gods do is difficult to understand. I, myself sometimes marvel at what we can do." Aphrodite turned around and walked down the path. "Come with me." I obeyed, following the goddess down the path towards the fountain. She led me to a table and sat down. I seated myself across from her.

"So…." I felt awkward, not knowing what to say to a goddess. Should I ask her about Mount Olympus? Or compliment her? Luckily, Aphrodite saved me by speaking first.

"We're here to talk about your journey," Aphrodite announced. She clasped her hands together. "Your love story is _so_ interesting! Although I have to say, I think yours is second only to Percy's and Annabeth's."

"Um, thanks?" I was confused. _My_ love story was interesting to Aphrodite? What?

"I mean, think about it," Aphrodite continued on, "what is more romantic than rescuing your fair maiden on a golden dragon? Oh, if only Homer were alive! This would be a marvelous poem!" She clapped her hand on her chest dramatically.

"Uhhh…." I stared at Aphrodite. I knew she was the goddess of love, but what I didn't know was that she would be this…giddy. Excited. Like a teenage fangirl raving about her OTP.

"Your love for Calypso must be the force behind you risking your life to save her, yes?" Aphrodite inquired, meeting my eyes and dropping her hand.

"Uh, sure," I replied rather unsurely. I'd never thought about it. It would probably result in me thinking sappy thoughts, and I preferred not to be sappy and gooey. "And also I'd probably be a bachelor my entire life if I didn't rescue Calypso, so _maybe_ that's also part of it."

"You are absolutely correct," Aphrodite replied, which surprised me.

"I-I am?" Was I really _that_ ugly? Wow.

"Of course. You will not be desirable among demigoddesses and mortals. But, to Calypso, you would always be her hero. She will always prefer _you_ to any other. Yes, even Perseus Jackson." I started on hearing Percy's name. I'd been so worried about getting to the island itself and being allowed to carry Calypso away and all that I neglected to think about what would happen afterwards. I'd forgotten all about Percy, to be honest. I knew for sure that Calypso probably liked Percy better than me. I'd never thought about the fact that Calypso would probably abandon me for Percy if she could. If I didn't rescue her, would she still choose me over him?

As if reading my thoughts, Aphrodite smiled warmly at me. "Do not worry, Leo. Calypso would always choose you, even if you did not come back for her."

"I don't know," I said. "Percy's so much better than me. He's handsomer, he's braver, he's a lot more thoughtful, he's the ideal hero. Me, on the other hand, I'm scrawny, she thought I was annoying for some time, she didn't like me until the last couple days-"

"Enough," Aphrodite interrupted. "Perseus may have a few better qualities than you, I cannot lie about that, but Calypso prefers you because of one thing."

"What?" I asked, curious.

"Loyalty." Aphrodite smiled. "The last day, you offered to take her back with you, even though you knew you couldn't. You're the only hero that did. Remember? You're also the only hero that does not have a girlfriend or is already taken. Percy has Annabeth. We all know that he would never leave Annabeth. They've been through so much together."

"But-"

"Don't argue with me," Aphrodite cut in. "Trust me. Percy and Calypso were not meant to be. Ask Calypso herself if you are doubtful." I made a mental note to do just that. I was skeptical that Calypso's honest answer would match up with Aphrodite's. "Anyway, I have a piece of advice for you."

"Really?" I couldn't hide my disbelief. Why would a goddess take the time to give me advice?

"Keep your motivation close to your heart." Aphrodite's eyes twinkled, and she leaned in closer. "Let it guide you in your darkest moments, let it help you persevere even when you have doubts. You will never be able to succeed if you do not have a motivation."

"My motivation," I echoed, not realizing I did. What was my motivation? Finding and rescuing Calypso? No. There was a deeper reason other than that. I wanted to be the hero that Calypso could finally stay with. The one who cared the most about her. The one who healed her heart instead of breaking it. The one who was different. The one she would choose.

"Ah, I see you have found it." Aphrodite smiled. "Always remember it." She stood up, and lifted her hand in a wave. "Farewell, Leo. Good luck. We will meet again soon, on Mount Olympus." Like before, a bright light flashed across my vision. This time, I waited calmly for it to die away. When it did, I was on Festus's back, right where I was before seeing Aphrodite.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

 **Leo**

From asking Festus, I figured that somehow, a couple minutes of time had passed since I had talked to Aphrodite. Inquisitively, Festus asked me if I knew anything about the dove that had flown in front of us. The bronze dragon informed me that the dove disappeared after a few moments, much to his confusion.

I told Festus about my weird meeting with Aphrodite in my head. Retelling the tale regenerated my fears about Calypso's feelings and what she would choose once she had freedom.

"I mean, what if she just decides she likes Percy better?" I spilled out to Festus. "I mean, I can't handle that! She's like, the first girl to actually _like_ me, so what will I do if she decides to ditch me?" Festus comforted me and tried giving me heartfelt advice, which didn't really help since Festus has never been in these types of situations before. I mean, there aren't a lot of bronze girl dragons out there in the world, and Festus has not really been given the chance to go out and find them.

We flew through the clouds, and my heart raced at the thought of seeing Calypso again. I could almost smell her cinnamon scent and hear her laugh trickle through my mind. I was so close to finding her, I could feel it. _Almost there,_ I thought, comforting myself. _Almost there, almost there, almost there, almost there._

* * *

But we weren't almost there. I grew anxious as the day faded to darkness and the moon's serene glow replaced the bright, hopeful sunlight. "Oh, where is Ogygia?" I asked the sky. I brought the Archimedes sphere out and checked the compass, making sure that we were absolutely heading the correct direction. Had Hephaestus somehow given me the wrong instructions? What if I was supposed to go west, south or east instead of north? What if my chances of finding the island was not reset? What if the gods decided to stop me from finding the island and Hephaestus couldn't do anything about it? "Stop thinking about it, Leo," I chastised myself sternly out loud. "It won't help anything." I took deep breaths, commanding my brain to stop worrying and my heart to stop beating so quickly. Turning to the things I _could_ help, I told Festus to turn on his searchlight, a powerful, solar powered, energy efficient LED I had, if I might say so myself, cleverly installed at the bottom of Festus's right foot. Most of the new features I had placed on Festus's new body had been done with the thought of this journey in my mind.

Anything else I could do? No. Forcing myself to stay calm, I glued my eyes to the rolling waves below me, searching for a speck of land, anything, _anything_ , that could prove to me that I would reach Ogygia. _Help me, please_ , I sent a silent prayer to the gods. _Please. I'll do anything._

Almost immediately, Festus sent a wisp of smoke from his nostrils, and my attention snapped to him. My senses heightened, and I tensed. "What?" Festus moved his foot so that the spotlight shone on something. I gasped. It was an island. Ogygia. "Okay, Festus, get ready to land." My voice was shaky and I still couldn't believe it. We were here. However, our landing was going to be a little, erm, bumpy. Our altitude was extremely high, well, compared to the fact that the island we were supposed to land on was very close. If I had been thinking clearly, we would have backed up a little before descending. But I was too excited, and too afraid that if Ogygia disappeared from my line sight, it would be gone forever. I couldn't take that chance.

Festus, determined, descended a huge distance vertically at one time, making my stomach drop like it does whenever you're riding a roller coaster. At least Ogygia was closer. He repeated the drop, and by the time Ogygia was right below us, I felt like vomiting. My head spun, and I pressed my fingers against my temples. "Last drop," I croaked. Festus creaked a warning, and then we plummeted down to hit the sand.

Only, we didn't hit soft sand like we'd expected. Somehow, we didn't see the wooden table covered with delicate utensils, plates, and goblets until it was right below us. Spreading his wings, Festus tried to avoid the destruction of the table, but it was too late. _Crack!_ I winced as I heard the table breaking into pieces, followed by the sound of plates, metal, and glass shattering. The impact threw me off of Festus's back and into the sand that covered the beach of Ogygia. I rolled around, waiting for my body to stop throbbing. When it did, I tried to stand, but failed. "Ack!" I groaned, as an extremely painful soreness spread through my legs. It was probably from sitting on Festus for so long. Stubbornly, I planted my hands into the sand and forced my body to ignore the pain in my legs and _stand_. After a while, I triumphantly had my two feet on the ground firmly, and I took a tentative step forward, not surprised when a new wave of pain surged through my leg. Taking another wobbly step, the soreness seemed to not be as excruciating as before. Continuing to take slow, unstable strides, I made my way over to Festus, who had taken the brunt of the crash.

His system hadn't shut down, which meant that he wasn't injured terribly. But he was lying on his side next to the mound of debris, with one of his legs sticking into the air at an odd angle. One of his wings, which was lying on top of his body, had a chunk of it ripped away. I knelt and put my hand on the side of his face. "How are you doing, Festus?" I asked softly. He creaked back weakly that he was still fine, but he couldn't fly in this state. "Hang on, I'll get you repaired in no time," I promised the faithful bronze dragon.

Footsteps suddenly sounded behind me, and it sounded like the person making them was running. I smiled to myself. Calypso. I kept my back to her, wanting to reveal my identity at the right moment.

"WHAT HAVE YOU _DONE?"_ an irritated but familiar voice yelled. "Hephaestus just carved that table for me!" I remembered the first time I'd broken her dining table, and how I'd argued that she shouldn't put one in the middle of a beach.

"Sorry, Sunshine," I replied, grinning. I heard Calypso gasp. "What?"

"That name," she whispered, "it reminds me of -" Here, Calypso gasped again.

"Stop gasping and tell me," I teased.

"That jacket," Calypso murmured. "It looks like the one I made for -"

I turned around, a goofy grin on my face. Not the most attractive face to look at, but, well, I was happier than I had ever been. A grin that makes you want to back away and scream for help was just my way of expressing it. Calypso was still the same, and I was surprised to find that she was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, just what she was wearing when I left. The shock on Calypso's face made my smile even wider. "Tell me," I said, "who does that name I called you remind you of? My jacket looks like the one you made for who?"

"Leo V-Valdez?" Calypso stammered, and she approached me cautiously. Her hand reached out to touch the side of my face, as if she was testing if I was an illusion or a ghost. "Is that really you?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Calypso**

The morning that Leo Valdez returned had been ordinary enough.

I was gardening, like I always did every morning, singing a sweet melody for the birds who were perched on the ground nearby. Sometimes they sang with me, too. Without any hero residing at my island, I became lonely, and my only friends were my wind servants, the birds, and the plants. I talked to all of them, about my dreams, my hopes, and my feelings. I've learned long ago that if I kept my emotions pent up inside of me for too long, they would all escape from me in one big emotional outburst that was sometimes not welcome.

My wind servants and the plants never responded when I talked or sang to them, but the birds sometimes would merrily chirp back to me. That always made my spirits lift. I would then laugh, rush back into my cave, and come back with some freshly baked bread to feed them. I suppose that spending time with nature always soothed my broken heart.

The song I was singing was about true love, something that will never happen to me. Not while I was cursed. Did I blame the gods every time my heart felt like it had broken into many shards that would never fit together again? To be honest, yes. But I also thank them for the happy moments I had spent with the ones whom I had hoped would finally tell me that they would stay with me for eternity. At least the gods are better than the Titans. I have learnt this because while most Titans are cruel and lack forgiveness, the gods have learned what mercy is. They have learned to move on from the past and accept the present. But they have never learned to move on from my past. All they remember is that I sided with my father Atlas in the first war.

Yes, I should be grateful for my secluded paradise, where I did not endure pain, hunger, and thirst like many the gods had condemned. But it was a prison, nonetheless, and I still wanted to be free from it, even if I had to starve in the world the heroes all abandoned me for. Any living creature would rather die free than live a slave. It is a fact of life.

However much I tried concentrating on gardening, it was all in vain. My thoughts kept wandering to the most recent hero that had wandered into my prison. Leo Valdez. How ironic, that the boy I thought I could not wait to see leave was the one I would miss the most. I realized that while I appeared to be annoyed and angry with his presence, little by little, I was really falling into the trap of love again. Cupid's arrow had pierced my heart agonizingly slower this time.

I pictured his mischievous smile and bright eyes in my mind. He was the most determined hero I had ever seen, not once accepting that his fate was to be a prisoner on my island. I remembered how he'd told me that he was coming back for me. A little voice in my head hoped he would and that he would succeed, but I knew that he could never reach my island a second time. I hoped he would never try because I didn't want anything to happen to him. My curse forbade me from seeing him ever again.

A tear slid down my cheek as I was thinking, but I didn't wipe it off. I kept on going down the rows of vegetables, showering them with water from a magical silver watering can that Demeter gave me. Another tear emerged from my eye, dropping into the soil below. Soon, my eyes were the center of a torrent of water. My tears all dropped to the soil, mixing in with the water from the can. I finished watering, yanked my gloves off, and thrust them both to the ground. Running down the footpath to the beach, I wiped my eyes furiously as I went.

Since the night Leo left, the spot we'd eaten dinner on the beach was my favorite spot. The campfire he'd made was still there, the burnt sticks and ashes standing out on the clean and immaculate beach. I never replaced or tried to reuse the remains of the pile of wood, but I still sat around it to eat dinner, even though the new dining table Hephaestus had gifted me was standing close by. I collapsed next to the campfire, sobbing. "Leo," I said to the sky shakily. "I just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you." Tears flowed down my cheeks. "I miss you, Leo." I missed his jokes, his teasing, and his sarcasm. Most of all, I missed his determination and loyalty. I wished he had stayed, but I knew he couldn't. Defeating Gaea was more important than making a lovesick girl happy.

I allowed myself to cry for a few more moments, then took a few shaky breaths, forcing my tears to stop. "You're okay, now," I told myself. "Just fine." I wiped my face for the last time and stood up, brushing the sand off my jeans as I did. Yes, after Leo left, I never converted back to my original white dress. I have worn jeans and t-shirts ever since the day he had gone.

The rest of the day passed by with me never once thinking about Leo. It's what I've trained myself to do. If I thought about him, I would break down. I needed to stay strong.

* * *

Night came. I'd already eaten dinner and was lying on my light blue, handwoven mat, about to fall asleep, when I heard a deafening crash. I scrambled up, my heart pounding loudly and quickly from the sudden sound. "I'm going to see what's happening," I told to my wind servants. "Don't follow me unless you hear something alarming." Was it another hero already? I hadn't expected another one so fast. I didn't want another hero here, not with the pain of heartbreak still fresh.

I dreaded the handsome face I'd see. It would probably send my heart beating with just one look. Absolutely what I'd wanted to avoid. _This time,_ I thought, even though I knew it wouldn't happen, _I won't fall in love._ Slowly, I walked down the footpath and along the beach to find out what happened. When the spot where my dining table was supposed to be came into view, I gasped.

I could see in the moonlight that my dining table was in splinters, and it absolutely could not be saved. Although I had never used the dining table once during its short existence, I felt a surge of anger. It was a gift from Hephaestus! He had taken the time to create something for _me,_ a lowly prisoner. Who was this hero to damage a gift from Hephaestus? Could he not see the table? I spotted a boy with messy brown hair wearing an army green jacket and jeans next to the wreck, kneeling beside what looked like a mechanical dragon, and all my rage transferred to him.

"WHAT HAVE YOU _DONE_?" I yelled at him. "Hephaestus just carved that table for me!"

"Sorry, Sunshine," the boy replied, his back to me. His voice did not sound sorry at all - in fact, he sounded cheerful. I was about to give him a piece of mind when the nickname he had given me registered in my mind. I gasped. _Sunshine_. It was the name Leo had called me. "What?" the boy asked.

"That name," I whispered, "it reminds me of -" Suddenly, I noticed his jacket. A green jacket with camouflage prints on it, exactly like the one I had made for Leo. It couldn't be him….

"Stop gasping and tell me," the boy said teasingly. Everything about this boy reminded me of Leo. His jacket. The nickname he called me. His cheerful personality. _It's not him. Don't get your hopes up._ The resemblance made my heart ache. I knew it would hurt even more when the boy in front of me would turn around and I would see that he was not Leo.

"That jacket," I explained softly, "it looks like the one I made for -"

Then, the boy turned. I stared at him, blinking to make sure what I was seeing was real. It _was_ Leo Valdez. Every detail of his face matched the one in my mind perfectly. He gave me the widest smile I had ever seen on him, which brightened his eyes and banished the shadows on his face. But it couldn't be him, could it? "Tell me," the boy smirked. "Who does that name I called you remind you of? My jacket looks like the one you made for who?"

"L-Leo Valdez?" I stuttered, and my heart pounded. Was it true? Had he somehow found a way to return to me? Warily, I walked towards him, and his smile grew bigger as I did. I touched the side of his cheek, and relief spread through my as my hand made contact with solid flesh. No, this was no illusion that Hecate might have conjured, nor was it some spirit that had come back to haunt me. It really was Leo.

Tears escaped my eyes, but this time, they were tears of joy instead of heartbreak and sadness. I flung my arms around him, and I felt his arms coming around to embrace me. As we pulled away, I finally managed to ask, "how?"

"Um, have we met? I'm Leo, and I can do _anything_ ," he boasted playfully. I swatted his arm lightly, and he winced.

"Are you hurt?" Concerned, I took his arm and rolled up the sleeve. I gasped. I didn't think it would be _this_ bad. Bandages covered arbitrary spots on his arm, and I could see traces of blood stains on the bandages.

"You're hurt. I'm taking you to my cave immediately," I announced.

"But I already took care of it," Leo protested, "I put bandages on them and everything."

"I need to disinfect them again - no, don't argue, look at the blood covered your wounds - and bandage them again. Leo, you are supposed to stanch the bleeding first before bandaging a wound. I know you didn't do that. After I'm done treating them, you are going to sleep immediately. And I will do all in my power to insure that you have a dreamless one, too."

Leo didn't argue. After all, a good night's sleep without any dreams was heavenly for most demigods. I knew that for many half-bloods, their dreams were plagued with nightmares such as their worst fears and replays of situations they try to forget. I, myself, had those dreams, too. "What about Festus?" Leo asked me, gesturing to the bronze dragon lying behind him. I looked at his form in pity. One of his legs was bent and his other wing was torn. I walked over to the dragon and knelt to look at his eyes. Festus stared back. His eyes held no emotion, but I somehow sensed that deep down, the dragon had a heart.

"Thank you," I murmured, putting a hand on his head, "for keeping Leo safe." A series of taps came from the dragon, which I puzzled over.

"He says 'no problem,'" Leo called from behind me. I didn't acknowledge Leo, being too focused on Festus.

"You need rest, too, dragon." I began to sing a melody in ancient Greek, hoping to soothe the dragon. "Sleep," I whispered once I finished the song. Festus's eyes closed and a final snort of smoke drifted from his nostrils.

"You put his systems on shut down!" Leo exclaimed as I stood up. I turned to face him sheepishly.

"I am sorry if that is not a good thing. I just thought that he would like some rest, too."

"No, it's not bad, I was just surprised, that's all. I was going to do it anyway. It's just that normally, you would have to go through the maze of wires and mechanisms in his head and find two loose wires, connect them, and that would put Festus's systems on a shutdown. I think it's safe to say that I never put Festus's systems on a shutdown, which is why I made that procedure so hard," Leo explained.

"Oh." Relieved, I nodded. I would never forgive myself if I'd damaged one of Leo's machines, even if it was on accident. Taking his arm, I led him along the shoreline towards the footpath that led to my home. I wanted to hear about Leo's entire journey and I knew Leo wanted to tell me. But Leo was exhausted. I needed to let him rest. So, I focused on questions that would result in short answers like "what did you eat?" and "are you hurt anywhere else?"

Before we knew it, we had reached my cave. I let go of his arm. Leo froze, locking his eyes on the entrance. "What?" I asked, concerned.

"I just can't believe it," Leo said softly. It was the first time I'd heard him sound so….vulnerable. "I'm actually here." A grin spread on his face and he laughed, a sound of pure joy that vibrated in my ears. "I'm actually here!" Leo yelled to the sky. "Thanks Dad!" I laughed too, at this cheerful boy shouting at his father through the sky.

"You're going to wake up all the birds," I scolded him playfully. "And all the neighbors. Oh wait, there aren't any." Leo quieted down and turned his gaze to me, still smiling.

"Did you just make a _joke_?" Leo laughed lightly. I rolled my eyes but smiled, nonetheless.

"Come on, let's go and get you treated." We walked side by side to enter my cave, me for the millionth time in my life, Leo for the third time in his life. The last time he entered, I'd thrown pots and other utensils at him. I cringed at the memory. I had been very…irritated that day.

Leo sat down on the rug I pointed to, which was in the room that visiting heroes usually slept in. What do mortals call it nowadays? A guest bedroom? He took off his jacket so I could work faster, unraveling his bandages and shaking my head at the amount of dried blood on his wounds and bandages. "You are terrible at bandaging and cleaning wounds, you know that?" I muttered. Leo rolled up his pants to reveal more wounds. "What happened?" I demanded while taking off a bandage that decided to cling to Leo's leg.

"Stymphalian birds," Leo explained. "Too many darts." I nodded sympathetically and continued to take off his bandages.

Once that task was finally done, I walked to the room next to Leo's, the storage room, and grabbed a clear bottle filled with a transparent liquid from one of the shelfs. Hermes, one of the kindest of the gods, decided to replace all my medicine with modern ones that worked even better than the medicines from ancient Greece. This particular bottle was filled with something called an _antiseptic_ , which I had never heard of. It apparently prevented infection in wounds, just like a concoction I had made myself. Hermes assured me that the liquid inside worked perfectly fine. I also grabbed a couple of cotton balls, which Hermes had also brought me. These cotton balls worked wonders. They were soft and could be used to clean small spaces and wounds.

I brought the antiseptic and cotton balls back to Leo, who was taping his fingers while waiting for me. He saw the bottle and grumbled. "That thing stings a lot." I raised my eyebrows at him.

"How do you know?"

"Those things _always_ sting," Leo groaned. He slumped against the curtain, forgetting that it was not a solid wall like he was probably used to, and fell over. "Ow!" I bit my lip, trying not to laugh, and helped him up. I calmed Leo down, since he was still grumbling about his fall and the bottle of antiseptic, and decided to disinfect his legs first. I set the cotton balls down and unscrewed the bottle, wrinkling my nose in distaste at the odor that I sensed. Pouring some of the liquid onto a cotton ball, I wondered if it really did sting as much as Leo seemed to think. Should I still give it to him then? But I pushed the thought from my mind. It was just liquid. If the only harm it caused was that it caused Leo pain, it was better than his wounds being infected. I rubbed the liquid onto his wounds, watching for Leo's reaction. He only winced, which was better than what I expected.

"It's not _that_ bad, is it?" I asked him with a knowing smile on my face.

"No," Leo admitted. I shook my head and continued to disinfect Leo's wounds.

When I was finished taking care of Leo's injuries, I pointed to a mat with a white pillow on it behind him. Though it looked like an uncomfortable sleeping spot, in reality, lying on the mat was like sleeping on fluffy clouds. "That's where you'll be resting," I told him. I pointed to the neatly folded white quilt at the opposite end of the mattress. "That's your blanket."

"Thanks Sunshine." Leo smiled at me and I kissed him on the cheek, resulting in a surprised expression on Leo's face. "Once I get Festus fixed," Leo told me as he took off his shoes and socks, "you'll be out of this island for good." Leo lay down and spread the quilt over him.

"Sleep," I murmured, my fingers brushing his forehead. His eyes drooped and closed. His breathing evened and relaxed. I smiled at the serene expression on his face and backed away.

This time, unlike the last time Leo told me I could try to escape the island with him, I had no doubts that I would finally be free. If anyone could cut me loose from my chains, it was Leo.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Leo**

When I woke up, the cave was still dark, due to the surprisingly thick curtains at the entrance. Not surprisingly, I'd had the best sleep in my entire life. Not a single dream haunted me. No replays of my mother's death. No evil gods or goddesses spoke to me. Nothing. My mat and quilt seemed to wrap themselves around me in a soft embrace, adding to my comfort.

Yawning, I threw off the covers and stretched. I felt refreshed, like how you feel when you splash water on your face during a hot day. After sitting up, I folded my quilt neatly (well, as neatly as I could, anyway) and placed it at the end of my mat, like how it was before. Next to my mat were my socks and shoes, but my socks looked like they had been given a whitening job, and my shoes looked pretty much like they were new, besides the wear on them. Another reason why Calypso was amazing.

Quickly, I pulled my socks on and laced up my shoes. I scrambled up and yanked the curtain back. Cautiously, I stepped outside my room, my shoes tapping quietly on the cement-like floor. Calypso was nowhere to be seen. Judging from all the closed curtains, I guessed she was in one of them, still sleeping. I resisted the urge to barge into every single room and find her. She needed to relax. Instead, I crept to the entrance and slipped through the curtain to the outside world.

Outside, I realized why it was so dark in the cave. The sun had barely risen. Most of the sky was either dark blue or black. On either sides of the footpath was a line of glowing, white flowers. I'd heard Percy mentioning about glowing flowers once. Moonlace, was that it? I hadn't paid attention to them last night, but now, they caught my breath. With the moon still faintly showing and hundreds of stars still glittering in the sky like jewels, the view was priceless. "Wow," I muttered. "How did Percy have the willpower to leave when he had a view like this?"

However much I wanted to just stand there and stare at the glowing flowers, my ADHD kicked in. I needed to _move._ Walking down the footpath, I made up my mind to start working on fixing Festus. What better time to start Festus's repairs than now? I wanted to fly Calypso to Camp Half-Blood as quickly as I could.

* * *

 **Calypso**

When I woke up, I wasn't sure if what happened last night was a dream or not. My mind was fuzzy because I'd stayed up too late, washing Leo's socks, cleaning his shoes, and weaving a fireproof and dirt proof shirt and jeans. When I'd finally gone to bed, my eyes couldn't even stay open.

Abruptly, I sat up. What if it was a dream? What if I'd been hallucinating? Without bothering to fix my hair or change out of my night dress into something else, I stood up and ran out of my room to where I'd put Leo.

The curtain was closed. Was that a good sign or a bad one? I took a deep breath. _Stop worrying. He'll be there._ Slowly, I pushed the curtain to one side and stared blankly at what I saw.

Leo wasn't there. His socks and shoes, which I'd placed next to the mat, was gone. The quilt was folded and was immaculate. There was no sign that Leo had been there at all. So had I been hallucinating after all? _He could be outside,_ my mind told me. _Or maybe not._ "He'll be there," I said aloud fiercely, trying to reassure myself. I turned and ran towards the entrance, pushing the curtains to either side of the mouth of the cave, letting my eyes adjust to the light. When they did, I hoped to find Leo, doing whatever. But he wasn't there either. _He's at the beach,_ I thought. _He has to be._ I raced down the footpath, my arms pumping wildly, my bare feet lightly skimming the ground.

When I reached the beach, I finally saw him. His hair was disheveled, and Festus was in front of him. Various metal parts were spread out around him. In his hand, he clutched a piece of paper, and he was furiously scribbling all over it. "Leo!" I shouted. He turned, and gave me a small smile. I launched myself towards him, my arms scooping him in a hug.

Surprised, it took Leo a moment to put his arms around me, too. I let go of him, looking into his brown eyes. "Why are you crying?" he asked, and that was when I realized tears were running down my face.

"I-I thought it was all a dream," I sniffed. "I saw your quilt folded up, and your shoes and socks weren't there, and I thought m-maybe I was hallucinating. Maybe you weren't there."

"Aw, sorry, Sunshine," Leo had a guilty expression on his face. "I woke up really early and I decided to come down here and work on Festus. I didn't mean to worry you."

I ran the back of my hand over my eyes, brushing the tears away. "No, it's fine. I'm fine now." Leo nodded, sensing that he shouldn't say anything. I was still recovering from my momentary terror. I took a deep breath. _You're okay. He's okay._ "So, can I help?"

"Well, not sure about now." Leo gestured to the paper in his hand. I realized it was a drawing of a wing and a leg, with lines and symbols in it that I didn't understand. "I'm still planning Festus's wing and leg designs. I'm pulling supplies out of my tool belt. I need to see what I have."

"I understand." I nodded. I couldn't pretend to know how to plan a machine's design. "I'll help by getting you breakfast."

"Breakfast sounds good!" Leo smiled. "I'm starving." I smiled back. _I can't wait to be free._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Calypso**

The next few days spent with Leo were pure bliss. Without having to worry about getting my heart broken, I could set aside putting a wall around my heart and enjoyed myself more. Never before had I laughed so hard, mostly at Leo's stupid jokes, and, as much as I tried not to, all the times his repairs on Festus had not gone so well. Leo and I, as much as I hate to boast, worked well together. We didn't have to ask each other to know what the other needed. We could almost read each other's minds.

One night, while eating dinner at our campfire, Leo spoke up. "I think we can finish Festus's repairs tomorrow."

"Oh?" I looked at him, trying to make sense of the feelings arising in my heart. Don't interpret that the wrong way, because _of course_ I wanted to leave Ogygia. How could I not? However, what was I going to do in the mortal world? I was not educated in the ways the mortal children were these days. I had no idea what the 'modern technology' all the gods spoke of were. For instance, what is this Apple phone Hermes was talking about? A phone carved out of an apple? Ridiculous. And if Leo and I were to stay together, I knew I couldn't just stay at home and be a housewife. I wanted to get a job and help contribute to the household. I wanted to be _active_ , especially since modern women now had the same rights as men. And what I was most fearful about was the journey that lay ahead. Never had I traveled so long of a distance. Would the gods even permit us to make it to Camp Half-Blood?

I voiced all my fears to Leo. His expression stayed calm and the familiar twinkle in his eye never disappeared. "Don't worry Sunshine," he assured me. "We'll have it all figured out."

The next day, Leo and I started our usual routine. We woke up, got dressed, and bathed in a small waterfall behind my cave. Then, we ate a quick breakfast, and started the trek towards Leo's old mud shack.

He'd been so surprised when I pointed it out to him. "You didn't destroy it?"

"Why would I?" I shrugged casually. "Seems like a waste to just destroy something one made. Like how _someone_ destroyed my dining table." I gave him a teasing look. In truth, I had kept the shack because it reminded me of him. I didn't want to give him the pleasure of knowing that, though.

Now, we used the shack as a storage room for all of Leo's supplies, and as Leo's temporary workroom, since he complained that the ocean breeze toppled over everything he made. My wind servants moved Festus more inland so that Leo didn't have to walk all the way to the shoreline to inspect Festus's design.

"Okay," Leo announced once we arrived, and pointed to the two biggest objects in the shack: a bronze wing and leg. "All I have to do is connect a few more wires, install some more panels of circuitry, and then attach the wing and leg to Festus. We should be done by afternoon. I think we should wait until tomorrow to leave, though. We need to pack, and I need to make sure there's nothing else wrong with Festus."

"Sounds reasonable." I nodded. "So, Captain Leo, what can I do?"

"That the spirit!" Leo grinned and pumped his arms in the air. "And _Captain_ Leo sounds much better than being called repair boy."

Leo's estimation was accurate. He'd finished the wing and leg before lunch. After we ate, he had my wind servants help him move the parts to Festus, and attached them to the dragon with ease.

"Done!" Leo collapsed, sitting on the sand, looking proudly at the dragon. Then he looked at me. "Can you, um, wake him up? I don't want to go through all the trouble of reconnecting the wires and stuff in his head, and I'm not sure they were disconnected, either, since you used magic to make him sleep."

"I'll try." I approached the dragon and laid my hands on either side of his head. "Wake, Festus." I felt the warmth swirling in my heart pour into Festus. My magic fed on love, and with Leo by my side, it was at its peak.

A snort of smoke escaped from Festus's nostrils. I started and jumped back. Festus's eyes opened, revealing his scarlet colored eyes. A strange kind of clicking noise escaped from him, and he rose, moving his legs as if shaking them.

"Good to see you back, Festus," Leo cheerfully said. "Take a short flight and tell me if your wings are working okay." The clicking noise sounded again, and the dragon shot into the air. His body gleamed in the sunlight as he soared above us in lazy circles.

"Wow," I breathed. "Amazing. I've never seen anything like him." I could watch the dragon all day and not get bored.

"I know, right?" Leo smiled, and his chest puffed up in pride.

"What's that clicking sound he makes?" I asked curiously.

"Morse code," Leo explained. "There are longer clicks, called dashes, and shorter clicks, called dots. A combination of dots and dashes form different letters." At that moment, Festus landed in front of us, sending clouds of sand billowing up at his feet.

"So, how do they feel?" Leo asked the dragon anxiously. "Does the new wing feel alright? Is the weight equal? What about your new leg? Anything else on you broken?" Leo almost sounded like a concerned mother. I had the urge to laugh, but wisely held it in. Even Festus looked like he was rolling his eyes. A series of clicks came from him, and by the way that Leo looked, which was relieved, I could tell that everything was fine. Leo looked over at me and motioned me closer. "I don't think I've introduced you two formally. Festus, Calypso. Calypso, Festus."

Festus approached and lowered his head, as if bowing. Another series of clicks were emitted.  
"He says thank you," Leo translated.

"For what?" I asked. "I didn't do anything. Leo was the one who fixed you, and he's the one who's going to get me off this island…" I broke off as Festus began to 'talk' in his way again.

"He says you're the one who kept me alive and motivated," Leo said once the clicking stopped. His voice sounded strange. "You're the one that made me _want_ to get off Ogygia. You're the one who inspired me to try." His eyes locked onto mine, and I wasn't sure if he were translating or not. "You're the one who made me feel like I was worth it."

I wasn't sure if I sprang forward first, or Leo. All I knew was that I felt so much love for him, my heart was going to burst. I kissed him for the second time in my life, feeling sure that we were never going to leave each other. Leo and I were bound together by fate. "Don't ever feel worthless," I said softly, as we broke apart.

"Calypso, I need to ask you something." Leo looked away, and his grin vanished. It was one of those 'oh no' moments.

"What?"

"You'll see Percy in the mortal world again. Would you still choose me if you knew you could, you know, make him fall in love with you?"

"Oh, Leo." I almost laughed at the question. I remembered Percy, the hero who had appeared on my island a few years ago. Percy was probably the hero who had broken my heart the most besides Leo, not that it was any of his fault. But would I choose Percy over Leo? No. Even if Percy didn't love Annabeth, I would always choose the latter. "Look at me, Leo," I instructed, and he obeyed. "You're the one who really did care about me. All the others - Percy, Drake, Odysseus, they only loved me when they were with me. Did you think that I'm the type of girl that only looks at the appearance of men and nothing else?"

Leo looked guilty. "Well, kind of."

"Leo, as Aphrodite once said-"

"Wait, _Aphrodite_?" Leo looked shocked for an unknown reason.

"Yes, Aphrodite." I raised an eyebrow. "It shouldn't be that big of a surprise. She was always appalled at the cruelty of my punishment. She visits me often, to help me get over my, erm, visitors."

"Oh."

"Anyways, as Aphrodite once said, it's the inner beauty that really counts. You can be flawless and beautiful, but if you are terrible and cold on the inside, you might as well be ugly. Leo, you are loyal, courageous, and optimistic at heart…and that really does shows on the outside. Percy might be handsomer than you - which he's not, of course," I added quickly after seeing something flash in Leo's eyes, "but, Leo, you are worth a million Percys.

"You really think so?" Leo asked quietly, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"Yes," I responded. And I meant it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Leo**

I spent the rest of the day taking short test flights with Festus, making sure his spotlight, laser eyes, flames, etc, worked. I only had to make a few adjustments with his leg because the spotlight was hard to control. Then, Calypso was beginning to worry about her suitcase, which her wind servants had packed for her. It was a medium-sized one, too big for to be a carry-on on planes. It was also _very_ heavy. I couldn't even lift it.

"We could strap it to Festus," she muttered, "but then it could fall off. Can he even carry it?"

"Relax, Sunshine. I've got a solution." I pointed to my tool belt. Calypso raised her eyebrows, looking at me as if I were a complete idiot.

"Leo, your tool belt is a hundredth of the size of my suitcase," she said matter-of-factly. "And anyway, you can't even lift my suitcase, so how are you going to carry it?"

"Well, let me show you a little something." I grinned at her and wiggled my eyebrows. I took my tool belt off and turned it upside-down, shaking it. All the items I had ever put inside my tool belt came tumbling out, like the tube I used to feed Festus, my food, the oil, all the trash I had stuffed in my tool belt from before, etcetera, etcetera. "Ta-da!" I said smugly.

"A magic item?" Calypso's eyes widened, then she frowned at the amount of trash that had been dumped onto her beach. "Leo, your tool belt is not supposed to be a trash can."

"I know, I know," I said sheepishly. "It's just that it was too hard for me, sometimes, to get to a trash can. And also maybe I'm a tiny bit lazy."

"And that's why I'm in your life!" Calypso beamed. She knelt down besides the pile of items and began to sort them. "Trash…trash…maybe useful…trash…." I squatted besides her to contribute.

"Oh, so _that's_ where that went!" I pointed to a bright pink, folded post-it note in the junk pile.

"What is it?" Calypso asked, picking it up. I snatched it from her.

"Sorry, Sunshine, but it's not my note. It's from Piper, and it's to Hazel. I was supposed to carry it to her when they were both in different rooms, but it kind of got lost in my tool belt because I forgot what color it was." I winced at how harsh I sounded, but I had other reasons not to show her. It was actually supposed to be for Annabeth, from Piper, and the two girls had a habit of making me carry notes for them back and forth when they were in different rooms and Annabeth was studying or planning the next Empire State Building. This particular note was Piper commenting on how perfect Annabeth and Percy were together, and I didn't want Calypso to get her heart broken all over again.

"Ah, I see." Fortunately, Calypso didn't look offended. "Girl topics, I suppose."

I tried not to squirm. "I guess." I tucked the note back into my tool belt.

By sunset, Calypso and I had succeeded in cleaning out my tool belt while Festus watched nearby, occasionally throwing in a comment. "Ah," Calypso sighed. She stood up, brushing her hands on her jeans. "Finally. Put all the things back in your tool belt, would you? And I'll have my servants take care of the trash." As soon as the words left her lips, an invisible force swept up the trash pile and carried it towards the footpath.

"Sure thing, Sunshine." I winked at her. She hesitated, then bent down and kissed me.

"I'll get dinner ready," she promised as she stood up, and left.

I was still grinning from the kiss and I was sure my cheeks were red. What did you say? I'm supposed to be the ladies' man? Well, Mr./Ms. Smarty Pants, if you hadn't noticed, I've never dated before. So hush up.

I was still smiling a minute later when I was done putting everything back into the tool belt, and it was safely strapped onto my waist, when I heard Calypso yell, "Leo! Come help me, will ya'?" _Oh, brother._ I rushed towards the footpath.

"Coming, _mamacita_!" I called back, and spotted her trying to balance two bowls of salad and one plate of garlic bread. I took the plate and one bowl from her, and we were able to make it back to the campfire site without dropping anything. I placed the dishes on the sand. Festus lumbered towards us and sat down behind me.

As soon as we were seated, and Calypso had gotten back from her many trips to her cave, she handed me a fork and a napkin. "Say, what did you call me again?" Calypso's eyes gleamed, an expression I'd unfortunately seen more than once.

" _Mamacita_ ," I replied innocently. Well, as innocently as I could.

"What does that mean?" Calypso narrowed her eyes at me.

"It's literally saying 'little mama' in Spanish," I explained. "Or, according to the internet, it's an 'endearing word used to describe a girl.'"

"Don't call me 'little mama'!" Calypso groaned. "I'm not little, and I'm not a mama, either!"

"Whatever you say, _mamacita_." I grinned as she scowled.

We ate in silence for the rest of dinner, watching the sun dip below the horizon. "So, we're going back tomorrow," I finally said, breaking the silence, then mentally cursed myself. How obvious was that?

"Yes," Calypso simply replied. "I have some extra food rations made. I need to put them in your tool belt."

"When did you make them?" I asked, astonished. "I never saw you do it."

"While you were working on Festus's repairs." Calypso shrugged.

"But…you never left me, right?" I tried recalling my memories of working inside my shack. I didn't remember Calypso leaving me.

She snorted. "You'd be surprised to know how many things escape your attention while you work."

"I am very aware of my surroundings while I work, thank you," I shot back.

Calypso grinned teasingly. "Oh really? Name one thing that you noticed while you were working that does not have to do with work."

"Uh…the wind was blowing?" I tried.

"Oh, come on. That doesn't count. You knew that when you stepped outside to check on Festus."

"Uh…" I couldn't think of anything. Calypso's smile turned from teasing to triumphant.

"See?" she gloated. I rolled my eyes. Festus creaked behind me, saying something like, 'you two are acting like second graders.'

"Oh, shush." I turned around to direct that phrase to him.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Leo," Calypso said, in a calmer voice. "Can you teach me morse code? I think I should learn, especially since I'm going to be traveling on Festus for a while."

"Sure thing, Sunshine." I reached my hand into my tool belt. When it emerged, I was holding a thin wooden dowel in my hand.

"Now?"

"Yeah, why not?" I drew a straight line in the sand. "That's a dash." I stuck the dowel into the sand until it left a dent. "And that's a dot."

"Okay, I got that," Calypso confirmed.

"Those are the written symbols for dots and dashes," I informed her, then drew a dot and a line. "That stands for the letter 'A.'" I nodded at Festus. "Could you demonstrate?" A short and a long click escaped from Festus.

That's how I taught her. I'd draw the symbol for the letter, and have Festus click it out. By the time it was dark, we'd gotten all the way to Z. "Great!" I said enthusiastically. "Now you just have to learn the numbers!"

Calypso groaned. "I don't think I should yet," she admitted. "I don't even have the morse code alphabet memorized."

"You'll get it," I said, then remembered something she said earlier. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Where are the food rations?"

"Inside the cave. In fact, we should go now." Calypso stood up and stretched, then reached down to pick up the dishes. I stood up and copied her. Together, we marched towards the footpath, only stopping at the entrance.

"I'm sorry, Leo, but Festus can't come this way," Calypso said apologetically. She turned towards the bronze dragon, who'd been following us. "The width of this path is too small, and I'm afraid you won't have enough space to sleep if you want to go in front of my cave. You'll be very cramped up."

"It's alright," I said after listening to Festus's reply. "He'll sleep by the shack."

Calypso nodded, murmured a last apology to Festus, then plunged onto the footpath.

"Goodnight, Festus." I lingered a moment, patting his snout. "Get some rest. We'll be having a long journey tomorrow." Festus clicked in reply and rubbed his snout against my hand.

"Leo! We don't have all night!" I heard Calypso yell. Sighing, I raced in after her, just as Festus walked away towards the beach.


	9. Chapter 9

**_As of 12/18/2016_** _: Happy birthday to my fellow fangirl-in-crime,_ _fandomqueen18_ _! You are an amazing friend, and I am so lucky to have someone like you in my life. Not every fangirl meets someone who they can be geeky (and fangirly) with._

 _Today also happens to be her first posting date for her first fanfiction ever:_ Island of Betrayal _. It's an Unwanteds fanfic. You won't regret reading it, I promise. I know firsthand that she is an extremely talented and experienced writer. If you aren't in the Unwanteds fandom, fandomqueen18 is in a lot (and I mean A LOT) of other fandoms, including but not limited to: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lunar Chronicles, and Keeper of the Lost Cities. She will probably be writing for those fandoms soon (sorry to pile expectations on you, fandomqueen : )) Wow, it feels so weird to be calling you by your username._

 _Please wish her a happy birthday and take a look at her newest fanfiction. You can find her page on my profile's favorites section._

 _-R.C. (Rosie Crescent, aka fairytalendings)_

 **Chapter 9**

 **Calypso**

 _We were flying on Festus, soaring above the ocean, darting between clouds._

 _"_ _How does it feel to be free, Sunshine?" Leo whooped._

 _I laughed, my heart bursting with happiness. "Amazing!" Leo turned around to smile back, and I was filled with euphoria. But it didn't last long, fading away without warning. Suddenly, an odd feeling overcame me, seeping through my bones. It could only be described as dread, somehow creeping inside of me. Any happy feeling I had left vanished. I felt like I did every time another hero left me, desperate, heartbroken, and without any motivation left. I had a feeling that something was going to go very wrong. "What's wrong, Sunshine?" Leo looked concerned._

 _"_ _I-" I tried to explain, but was cut off with the giant roar of thunder. The clear blue sky disappeared, replaced by a gray, stormy one. Thunder boomed around us, and lightning flashed. "Zeus!" I screamed, terrified. A boom of thunder, like a laugh, echoed around us._

 _"_ YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE ME _," a disembodied voice said. "_ AND YOUR HERO WILL PAY _."_

 _"_ _Leo!" I yelled, terrified. I clutched his shoulders. "Be careful!"_

 _But it was too late. A bolt of lightning struck his side, making me quickly yank my hands back. Electricity tingled in my hands, the remainder of the tiny shock I'd just gotten. Then, I realized Leo wasn't in front of me. "Leo? LEO!" I panicked. I looked over the side of Festus, to see him falling down to earth, his eyes blank._

And I sat up, my heart racing, my body trembling. I'd never been afraid of the dark, but now every shadow seemed like a monster. I lay back down, curling into ball.

 _Take a deep breath,_ I commanded myself. _Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale._ My heart calmed down, and I stopped shaking, but my mind never forgot the dream. I tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. I was tempted to just stay awake the entire night, but I knew I would regret it in the morning. Finally, I made a decision. I slipped out of my mat and stood up, tiptoeing out of my room, into a familiar series of twists and turns that finally led me to Leo's room, all while clutching my quilt.

Quietly, I entered his room. He was sleeping on his side, his face turned towards me. He was also snoring softly. I almost giggled but caught myself at the last moment. I laid down in a corner of the room on the hard, rocky floor, spreading my quilt over myself. It might have been uncomfortable on any other day, but at that moment, it was the most comfortable place I could ever imagine being. This time, I had no trouble falling asleep. I closed my eyes and almost immediately drifted off.

* * *

"Rise and shine, Sunshine!" a familiar voice said.

I groaned, stretching on the cold floor of the cave in Leo's room - oh wait. I abruptly sat up and blushed scarlet, not daring to meet the Leo's teasing eyes.

I may have had no problem coming to Leo's room that night, but now, I was starting to regret that decision. What was I supposed to say? _Sorry, Leo, I had a nightmare and so I decided to sleep in your room!_ How embarrassing! It sounded like I was a little girl, running to her parents' room because she was afraid of the monster under her bed.

"And you said you hated me the last time I visited." I looked up to see Leo smirking. I glared at him, my embarrassment starting to fade away.

"You be quiet!" I snapped, then asked, "did I oversleep much?"

Leo's smile grew wider. "You sure did. Judging from the sun, it looks about noon right now."

"Oh no!" I gasped, standing up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Relax, Sunshine." Leo shrugged. "It doesn't make much of a difference if we leave a couple hours late."

I sighed and relaxed. "I suppose it doesn't."

We started that morning - well, afternoon - like any other, except, instead of breakfast, it was a quick brunch. Leo had to tell me multiple times to stop apologizing for making him suffer through the morning without breakfast. "If I wanted to eat, I would have gotten something. I'm not helpless," he had insisted.

After eating, I had my wind servants put Leo's suitcase into his toolbelt.

"Are you sure it's going to fit?" I questioned for the tenth time. Even though I knew it was a magic item, the suitcase just didn't look like it could possibly squeeze itself inside the tiny little tool belt. Ironic how I'm a titan, yet I still don't trust a magic item.

"Yeah," Leo replied, rather patiently for the tenth time in a row, but then rolled his eyes. "Geez."

"I'll believe it when I see it," I returned, as my servants began to lift the suitcase.

Of course, the suitcase fit perfectly inside, contrary to what my mind believed and tried to tell me.

"Are the food rations packed?" I asked. "Medical kit? Weapons? Extra supplies?" I scanned over a mental checklist.

"Yes, yes, yes, and yes." Leo strapped his tool belt back on, then reached in and took out something. It glinted in the sun, reflecting a golden light back at me.

A celestial bronze dagger.

Leo handed it to me. "You need to be able to protect yourself," he explained. "If you don't know how to use it, just slash and stab randomly. That method usually works for me."

 _I hope I never have to use it._

Gingerly, I took the dagger from him, then gestured towards myself. "Where do I put this?"

"Do you have a belt?" Leo questioned, then shook his head. "No, of course you don't." He reached into his tool belt once more, pulling out a leather belt. "Here, use this, and strap your dagger to it." I did as he instructed, threading the belt around my waist and finding a small loop in the belt where I could slide the dagger in. As I did, the loop immediately shrunk to match the size of the dagger.

"Magical item?" I guessed. Leo nodded. Then he slipped onto Festus's back, who was standing beside him. I followed suit, wrapping my arms around his waist once I was seated.

"Let's go, Festus!" Leo shouted cheerfully. The dragon's wings spread, and with that, we were off the ground, soaring above the beach. I watched as Ogygia grew smaller and smaller, and I have to admit I was rather choked up, seeing the place I'd called home recede into the distance. If my wind servants weren't invisible, I imagined that they would be staring up at us, waving as we disappeared from their view.

"I'll miss that place," I murmured to Leo, "even though it was my prison, it was still my home."

"You'll have an even better home in the mortal world," Leo said back. "You'll see." I smiled gratefully at his attempt to cheer me up.

We flew for a couple more minutes, when a chill spread over me, just like the one in my dream. _Oh no_. I recalled the image of Leo, falling down, lifeless. My terror increased, and I hugged onto Leo tighter. _I won't let go this time._ "Leo," I whimpered, afraid. "Something's going to-" _Boom!_ The roar of thunder interrupted me. The fluffy white clouds that were above us turned gray, and the sky turned dark. Lightning flashed, and below us, the sea churned wildly.

"It's just a storm!" Leo called as wind began to swirl around us. "We'll be fine!"

"I'm not so sure about that!" I yelled back. The wind circled around us faster and faster, until it felt like we were inside a tornado. I clutched Leo even tighter, to the point where he almost couldn't breathe, not wanting the day to end like it did in my dream. Festus roared and spewed flames from his mouth as if trying to burn the storm out, but it was quickly put out by the wind.

Then there was a blinding flash of lightning that struck right in front of us, blinding our vision so we could only see white. And then came the sensation of falling, falling down….


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Leo**

I have to admit, I was freaked out.

I also have to admit I was screaming like a little girl. Well, so was Calypso. We were both screaming in harmony.

Let me just say it. I was pretty sure I was falling to my death. After all, our flight had taken a turn (or should I say a drop, haha?) for the worse.

I couldn't see anything except for a blinding white light, similar to the one I saw when Aphrodite summoned me. Except, this one was a hundred times brighter, if that was possible, and I could feel its power radiating all around me.

Just as sudden as the storm came, the falling stopped. I felt the thud of the ground beneath us, and I rolled off of Festus's back. A _thud_ from behind me let me know that Calypso had done the same. The white light disappeared, and I blinked. My vision still danced with white spots. Dizzily, I tried to stand, but couldn't keep my balance. Slowly, I crawled toward Calypso, who was kneeling, staring straight ahead at something.

"Calypso," I managed. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, her gaze still on something behind me. Like the idiot I was, I didn't understand what she was doing until her action registered in my brain a couple seconds later. I turned to look, and gasped.

We were in a circular room. The floor was covered in marble tiles, and the walls were a soothing shade of ivory. But that was not all.

Seated in front of us in an arc were a multitude of gods and goddesses. I recognized my dad among them, who gave me a small smile.

Calypso stood up, and I repeated her movements, facing the gods, and ignoring the wash of nausea that spread through my head. Was I supposed to bow? Drop to a knee? I settled for giving them a weak wave, which must have made me look stupid.

"Leo Valdez." The god in the center spoke in a deep voice. The platinum throne he was sitting on shone, immersing him in a silvery glow. He had shoulder-length black hair, and graying stubble on his chin. He wore a dark blue pinstriped suit and black dress pants. "Calypso."

Besides me, Calypso curtsied. "Lord Zeus," she acknowledged.

"Let's get to the point, shall we?" Zeus leaned forward on his throne. "I called you both here because you dare to defy us." A murmur spread through the throne room as Calypso and I looked at each other fearfully. Obviously, Zeus wasn't exactly in a good mood today. "However, I will give you a chance to speak. Go ahead. Convince me that she - " Here, Zeus gestured towards Calypso, "should be free."

The gods went silent again, all eyes turned on us. Hephaestus gave me an encouraging smile. Aphrodite, who was dressed in a white, sleeveless dress with a golden hem, sent me a tiny wink. I cleared my throat, the sound echoing through the room. "Um," I began. "First of all, thanks for, uh, giving us a chance, Zeus." I nodded at him. He didn't make any movement, so I continued on, my throat drying up from nervousness. "Why don't you trust Calypso?"

"Good question." A goddess with black hair pulled into an updo spoke up. She was dressed in an elegant white dress with long, flared sleeves at the end. Her eyes were piercingly gray, like Annabeth's. "We have many reasons not to trust her, including, and especially, the fact that she sided with her father, Atlas, in the first Titan War. How do we know she will not take his side again? After all, she _is_ his daughter."

Indignantly, I opened my mouth to protest to the goddess's callous remark, but Calypso put her hand on my arm. "I will answer this one," she said softly. "Lady Athena, I understand how you may think that. But during my rather long time on the island, I have observed much." Calypso paused. "One thing is that the gods are more merciful than the titans. You have learned when to let go of your past grudges and when to keep them, whereas the titans punish all that get in their way, no matter what. That includes their own kin.

"Second, I think that I begin to think of you as family. The titans have never visited me. Never. And yes, I know, you probably would have prohibited the visit, but it would not have hurt to try, would it? Now did anybody even attempt to visit me?" Calypso stared at Zeus demandingly.

"No," Zeus admitted. "But maybe - "

"But maybe they were planning a big attack to free me? Maybe they were going to storm Mount Olympus and demand my release? Lord Zeus, you shock me. We all know they were never going to do that. Of the thousands of years I have been on my island, not one rescue attempt was made, save for Leo. After all, I am only one titan out of the many others. I cannot fight. I am no use to them. And because of their neglect towards me, I will no longer stand by them." Calypso's eyes held fire in them as she spoke, and her hands moved rapidly.

"Very well," Zeus mused. "Now it is time for the son of Hephaestus to speak." His eyes - along with the rest of the gods and goddesses - turned towards me.

There was a silence in the room as I struggled to think of what I should say. I met Calypso's eyes and she gave me the tiniest nod. I saw determination in her eyes, and above all, trust. She _trusted_ me to do this. I couldn't - wouldn't - fail her.

"Have any of you had your hearts broken?" I looked at each of the gods in turn. "Any of you?"

To my surprise, the gods began to speak. "I have," someone sniffed.

"Dozens of times - "

"Heartbreak is my middle name - "

"Just last week - "

"Remember the pain you felt?" I interrupted the conversations, and silence fell in the room again. "The feeling that you were useless, hopeless, and _broken_?"

The gods all looked at each other, and some started to whisper agreements. "Well that is nothing compared to what Calypso felt every single day of her life on the island. Nothing. _Nothing!_ " It was my turn to glare at Zeus. I had never felt so….alive. So passionate. I was like a living fire, growing bigger by the second. "She felt ten times the pain you felt! And she never once gave you trouble about it. She was still nice to the occasional godly visitors! She didn't shout death threats at you or even threaten to curse your YouTube videos to always buffer! But she never deserved this!" I was nearly shouting now. I felt Calypso's hand on my shoulder, and I calmed down a bit. "I think Calypso has suffered more than she made you all suffer. I don't think that's fair. Do you?"

"Well, boy, of course I don't think that's fair - " Zeus began, but I interrupted him.

"Well you don't show it!" I accused. "I think Calypso was being too nice when she compared you to the titans. Because right now, you are all acting just like them. Don't think so? Fine. Show me you are more fair, and more merciful than the titans then."

Now _that_ got the gods talking. Feeling triumphant, (and like I'd achieved something), I stepped back, not bothering to conceal the smirk on my face. Zeus's eyes looked like lightning bolts could shoot out of them, but he soon calmed down as he surveyed his fellow Olympians talking.

Only one goddess wasn't involved in the conversation in the room. It was Athena. Her eyes were closed, and she had a peaceful expression on her face, almost like she was meditating over the decision.

Before I could look away, her eyes snapped open, but she wasn't looking at me. Her head turned so she could face the king of the gods.

"Zeus!" She had to shout over all the talking in order to be heard. The rest of the Olympians quieted when they realized who was calling.

"Yes, Athena?"

"I have a solution." She glanced at us, her mouth pressed into a thin, hard line. "Forgive me for speaking so harshly, but I _am_ a goddess of strategy. I never think about emotions when thinking of tactics. They get in the way." She looked at us apologetically.

"Just say your solution," I said eagerly. _Did I really convince them to let Calypso go?_

"Well, you see, I am still not sure Calypso wouldn't betray us. I mean, maybe not now, but perhaps years from now, if the titans offered her rewards greater than we could ever give…" Athena trailed off, giving me a sideways glance. I gritted my teeth, trying to keep myself from shouting insults at the goddess. I nodded at her, gesturing for her to keep going. "So, you see, and I think Father agrees with me on this, but it's too risky to just release Calypso into the mortal world, powers and all."

"I do agree with you on that," Zeus admitted.

"So here's my proposal," Athena continued. "You have two choices, Calypso. Your first choice is that we will allow you to venture into the mortal world. However," she quickly added when she saw a smile creeping up on my face, "however, your powers - and your immortality - will be taken away."

I gasped, along with the other gods, turning to look at Calypso. She had a calm expression on her face, unlike mine, which was, I guessed, beginning to have a panicked expression on it. She couldn't just give up her immortality! She would be able to die, then. I couldn't imagine what it must feel like to be immortal, then to have it stripped away. How vulnerable would I feel?

"You said we have two choices, Lady Athena." Calypso's voice rang out, strong and clear. "What is the second choice?"

"You probably will not like it," Athena sighed. "But I suppose I don't know how you mortals think, anyway. Your second choice is that Leo will be allowed to remain with you on Ogygia. He will be made immortal. However, he, and his dragon, will not be allowed to leave the island, just like you. The curse will not be lifted, and demigods will still come to Ogygia when in need of healing. However, you will not fall in love with them."

My head swam. I liked the second idea even worse than the first, just like Athena's prediction. I couldn't even bear to be trapped on Calypso's island for a month, much less for eternity. But if that was what Calypso wanted, then so be it. I would suffer the same punishment she did, then.

"I approve of both those choices," Zeus declared. "We will give you two time to think among yourselves."

A moment of silence stretched for a few seconds. Then, probably realizing that it was not the most polite thing in the world to listen in on the most important conversation of a demigod and titan's lives, the gods broke into idle chatter once again.

Calypso and I looked at each other. "If you want me to stay," I said, "I'll do it."

"Don't be silly," she snapped. "Do you really think you would be able to bear it? I don't think so. No, I'm leaving with you to the mortal world. I've always wanted to see it."

"But," I protested, "you'll be able to die! Will you be able to face that? Especially since you're probably going to meet a lot of monsters, too, since I'm a demigod."

"Leo, as someone once said, a man would rather die free than live a slave." Calypso stared determinedly into my eyes, then she looked down. "Unless…you don't want me with you?"

"Calypso, no!" I put my hand on her shoulder, horrified. "Why would you think that? Of course I want you with me! I will never leave your side, I promise."

Calypso looked up at me. "Really?"

"Really." I smiled.

"Well then," Calypso squared her shoulders. "Lord Zeus, we have made our decision," she announced.

The room grew silent.

"Speak it." Zeus nodded at her.

"I will go to the mortal world with Leo." Her eyes met the lord of the sky's as they stared at each other, each one determined not to back down.

Zeus looked away first. "Very well," he boomed, and stepped down from his throne. "I will take away your immortality and powers, then."

The god approached Calypso and placed his fingers on her temples. He closed his eyes as a silvery substance began to swirl around his hands. It sparkled and danced around Calypso's head, looking like glitter. Calypso cried out, and I started to rush towards her, but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't," Athena ordered, someone appearing behind me. Her hand restrained me as I watched, frustrated I couldn't do anything. "She will be fine."

The silver dust increased second by second, swirling around faster and faster, until finally, Zeus yanked his hands away, and with it, the silver glitter. Calypso staggered away from him. Her eyes flashed open, just in time to see the silver glitter dissolving into thin air.

"It is done," Zeus said wearily, looking drained. "You are free to go." He raised a hand, as if to say farewell. My eyes found my dad's in the arc of gods, and we locked gazes.

 _I'm proud of you_ , he mouthed. I smiled, then raised my hand, too.

"Thank you," Calypso murmured. "I am in your debt."

Zeus inclined his head. The familiar field of white engulfed my vision once again, and the Olympians disappeared from my sight.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **Calypso**

Even though I'd heard Zeus agreeing to set me free with my own ears, I still couldn't believe it when I saw the ocean and the sky again.

Somehow, we were back on Festus's back, with me sitting behind Leo again. The latter let out a surprised cry, before Festus flapped his wings, and we were soaring above the clouds again.

I laughed, my heart feeling light and free. I was free! I could do whatever I wanted, go anywhere I chose. I could visit Sicily and see the ruins of the Roman civilization that I had never laid eyes on before. I could taste the cuisines of the world - especially the 'fast food' that Hermes had been raving about once.

"I'm free, Leo!" I exclaimed.

He remained silent.

"Leo?" I asked tentatively, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. The boy was being overdramatic, really. I'd already told him that he didn't need to worry about me being mortal, didn't I?

"If you regret this decision, it's all my fault," he said somberly. "Do you realize what you just did? No powers, no immortality. You'll be able to die very easily. I'm a demigod. I attract a lot of monsters."

"That's why _I'm_ going to learn how to fight," I replied casually, wrapping my hand around the dagger attached to my belt. "I might have no powers, but I'm not powerless. I still remember a bit of combat from before Ogygia."

"Really?" Leo perked up. "You know how to fight?"

"Better than you, probably." I smirked. I didn't see any type of weaponry on Leo. I guessed that normally, he used his fire powers, or he made some kind of machinery on the spot as a weapon.

"Hey!" he protested.

"So promise that you will never regret your decision to let me lose my immortality?"

"Fine," Leo sighed, but I knew he felt better, nonetheless.

"So where are we going now? Camp Half-Blood?"

"Nah," Leo shook his head. "There's a mechanic in Albania some of the bros at Camp told me about. They said he carried some pretty good stuff in his storage. The best celestial bronze ever forged, apparently. I want to check them out, then use them to make Festus some new wings if they're really that good. I mean, I was going to go there sooner or later. So since we're out here, might as well go. Maybe I could make new wings with lasers in them? And I'm also going to have the guy in Albania do a check-up on Festus."

Now, I'd become accustomed to Leo's sarcasm and jokes, but I wasn't sure if he was joking or not about the lasers. On the other hand, Albania? Where was that? I wasn't naive, certainly, but the world had changed much since I'd become prisoner in Ogygia. And with my only source of information coming from the gods, periodically, I had a hard time keeping track of all the countries that changed their names, or conquered another city-state, or combined together because they intermarried. Did mortals even do that anymore? "Where's Albania?"

"Right above Greece," Leo explained. "and across from Italy. I just gotta punch in the coordinates of Tirana into the Archimedes sphere, and it should work just like a GPS…" he plunged his hand into his tool belt, pulling out a bronze sphere with designs - which I guessed were traces of machinery - embedded on its surface. He fiddled with it, which made me a bit nervous. For all I knew, the sphere could suddenly explode.

The sphere did a tiny beeping noise, which startled me just a little. Leo whooped in victory. "Coordinates in, ready to go. We're going to head north. So, we're probably in the Indian ocean somewhere."

Indian ocean? I'd heard of India, at least, the kingdom filled with silk and gold. I'd never visited the place, but I did want to.

"Can we go to India?" I asked Leo.

"Er, not now," he replied. "We gotta get back to Camp as soon as possible so that my friends don't get _too_ worried. And - oh! I almost forgot!" He slapped his forehead, groaning.

"What?"

"I forgot to send them a message," Leo muttered sheepishly. He reached into his tool belt again to pull out a scroll.

"Mortals still use scrolls?" I scrunched up my forehead, confused. I thought, from what Hermes had told me, that mortals used "email" and "text messaging." However, the wooden rods of the scroll had the same embedded designs on it as the sphere. I guessed that Leo had tweaked it somehow to work like a machine.

"Nope. Since demigods can't use cellphones, I thought maybe I could make something like texting, but different. Watch this."

With that, Leo unraveled the scroll, and pressed something at the top rod. Instantly, a hologram of Leo standing up was projected from the scroll. "Gods!" I breathed. "That's amazing."

"4K quality," Leo boasted proudly, although I had no clue what he meant. "Now be quiet for a sec. I need to record my message."

He pressed something else at the top rod, which didn't do anything, as far as I could tell.

Leo spread his arms to the side, and the mini hologram Leo did the same. "Hey, guys! Sorry to leave you like that," Leo began, and hologram Leo opened and closed his mouth as if he were talking, too. "Bad news: I died. Good news: I got better! I had to go rescue Calypso. We're both fine now. We're taking Festus to Tirana in Albania. We'll be back as soon as we're done, I promise. We're going to cook tacos when we get the chance. Which is soon. _¡Vaya con queso!_ Love ya!" Leo ended his message and pressed the top rod again.

"We're going to cook tacos?" I snorted, amused.

Leo turned his head a quarter of the way towards me. "Tacos are amazing. The only thing that tops that is cheese."

As much as I hate to admit it, I was looking forward to cooking tacos. I was looking forward to everything, basically. I wanted to fight monsters. It'd been a long time since I'd been in action. I wanted to go to Tirana with Leo. I wanted to see how amazing tacos were. Now that my immortal life had ended, I couldn't wait to start my mortal one.


End file.
